Criminal and court records

The Prosecution Project - Criminal Trials in Australia 1850-1960

Mon, 01 Oct 2018 05:36:35 GMT

The Prosecution Project by the Australian Research Council and Griffith University is investigating the history of the criminal trial in Australia. The registers of Supreme Court cases from most jurisdictions are being digitised and the extended using other archival sources and Trove digitised newspapers. Searches are available 1850-1922. The search return includes the name of accused, date of trial, the first offence listed, the verdict, location of trial and links to Trove digitised newspapers. New

Family Search - Australia, Victoria, Inquest Deposition Files, 1840-1925

Mon, 10 Sep 2018 06:58:09 GMT

Inquest Deposition Files created by the Coroners Court of Victoria. The original records are held by the Public Record Office of Victoria. FamilySearch has an index and the original records online (free). New

Queensland Courts - Supreme and District Court - Civil files search

Sun, 26 Aug 2018 07:28:42 GMT

There is link to the search facility - Party search (eCourts) plus instructions on using the site. This site is useful for locating probate applications. The online search facility is not available for all Queensland Courts and the date range available varies with most dating from 2002 and 2007. Brisbane dates from 1992 and Townsville from 1996. New

State Archives & Records New South Wales - Gaol Inmates / Prisoners Photos Index 1870-1930

Sat, 23 Jun 2018 23:01:40 GMT

The gaol photographic description books contain a photograph of each prisoner and the following information: number, prisoners' name, aliases, date when portrait was taken, native place, year of birth, details of arrival in the colony - ship and year of arrival, trade or occupation, religion, standard of education, height, weight (on committal, on discharge), colour of hair, colour of eyes, marks or special features, number of previous portrait, where and when tried, offence, sentence, remarks, and details of previous convictions (where and when, offence and sentence). Free digitised copies of these records are online. Please note that the dates of the books for each gaol may vary and photographs were not taken of every prisoner admitted to gaol. Gaols currently listed in the index include: Albury 1876-1929, Armidale 1894-1915, Bathurst 1874-1930, Berrima 1883-1888, Biloela 1885-1906, Broken Hill 1904-1929, Darlinghurst (Sydney) 1869-1914, Deniliquin 1895-1929, Dubbo 1889-1920, Goulburn 1884-1930, Grafton 1894-1929, Maitland 1885-1898 and 1875-1903, Parramatta 1881-1930, State Reformatory for Women, Long Bay and Trial Bay 1892-1901.
TIP: If someone in your family 'disappeared' these records would be worth checking. It is also a good place to find ship of arrival. New

State Archives & Records New South Wales - Webinars

Sat, 23 Jun 2018 21:43:48 GMT

State Archives & Records upcoming free live webinars will cover NSW Professions and Occupations; NSW Colonial Secretary’s Correspondence and Sources for Marriage in NSW. You need to register to view these live. You can view previous webinars in the Webinar Library and these cover Bankruptcy and Insolvency records in NSW; Asylum records in NSW; Divorce records in NSW; NSW Probate Records; Tracing NSW Gaolbirds; Basics of conservation; NSW Shipping & Immigration records; Tracing NSW Convicts and Using the NSW State Archives website. New

Queensland State Archives - Online Indexes - Convict / Prisoner

Sun, 20 Sep 2015 20:46:17 GMT

These indexes include:
• Chronological register of convicts 1824-1839 (now providing free direct access to digital copies)
• St Helena prisoners 1863-1936
• Toowoomba prisoners 1864-1906
Copies of the documents are available from QSA for a fee. New

Findmypast - Pentridge Prison, Victoria - Prison Registers 1871-1960

Tue, 19 May 2015 23:34:29 GMT

These records details prisoners from HM Pentridge Prison, the main prison in the Melbourne area. The records list the prisoner’s occupation, place of birth, physical description, crime, other details and also include the prisoner's photograph (mugshots). A variety of subscription options offer access to digitised copies of the original records.
TIP: Findmypast is available for free, onsite, at some state, public and family history libraries. Check what might be available onsite at a library near you. New

Queensland State Archives

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 23:07:15 GMT

Select Search the records and use these categories to access dropdown lists of online indexes and access to original records if available:
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
• Australian South Sea Islanders
• Business
• Convicts and early settlers
• Courts
• Government
• Immigration
• Lands
• Schools, hospitals and orphanages
• Shipping and railways
• War
There is also a family history link plus guides, videos and other information to help you.
TIP: Assisted immigrant passenger lists 1848-1912 are online for free.

State Records of South Australia

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 23:07:15 GMT

State Records of South Australia has links to an A-Z for researchers; Aboriginal services; fact sheets; family history information; indexes and special lists plus passenger lists. There are online records that have been digitised by FamilySearch and are freely available on the FamilySearch site. Use the indexes on this site in conjunction with this list of Quick Links categories shows the records available with links to the FamilySearch images.
Births, Deaths and Marriages
Index to deaths prior to compulsory registration, from 1802
Index to marriages solemnized in South Australia, from 1836
Index to marriages prior to compulsory registration in June 1842, from 1836
Ooldea mission rough register of births, deaths and marriages, from 1936
Record of births and marriages of Aborigines in the Kingston District, from c1940
Boarding Out
Ledgers of children boarded out - Destitute Board, later State Children's Department, from 1862
Census
Returns of Census compiled in January 1841
Courts
Criminal record books - Supreme Court of South Australia, from 1845
Criminal record books, chronological series - Supreme Court, from 1842
Destitute Asylum
Register of admissions - Destitute Asylum, from 1870
Register of infants born in the Destitute Asylum, from 1883
Register of admissions to the lying-in home, from 1886
Gaols
Register of prisoners in the gaol for assaults, fines, debt etc. - Adelaide Gaol, from 1838
Registers of prisoners committed and tried - Adelaide Gaol, from 1839
Register of prisoners and charge books - Redruth Gaol, from 1861
Register of prisoners - Adelaide Gaol, from 1857
Register of prisoners - Yatala Labour Prison, from 1866
Register of prisoners - Port Lincoln Gaol, from 1880
Register of prisoners - Gladstone Gaol, from 1881
Hospitals
Admission registers - Adelaide Hospital, from 1840
Inquests
Police Reports to the Coroner - City Coroners and successors
Police Reports to the Coroner are listed by file number. To identify the file number refer to Police Reports to the Coroner Special Lists where you can search by year and name.
1879-1918, 1919-1931, 1936-1937, 1938-1941, 1942-1944, 1945-1947, 1948-1951, 1954-1955, 1956-1957,
South Australian Police Department
Blinman Police Station Inquest register, from 1884
Carrieton Police Station Inquest register, from 1884
Jamestown Police Station Inquest register, from 1885
Waukuringa Police Station Inquest register, from 1885
Yongala Police Station Inquest register, from 1887
Insolvencies
Register of insolvencies, from 1841
Register of arrangements by deed under the Acts of 1857-1858 and 1860-1886 (dated from 1858)
Passenger Lists and Ships' Papers
Passenger Lists
The best way to view Passenger Lists is via our Passenger Lists webpage. Below are links to the Lists uploaded by FamilySearch.
Records relating to official assisted immigration - Crown Lands and Immigration Office - Official assisted passage passenger lists 1845-1886
Lists of outgoing passengers departing from Port Adelaide for overseas ports 1888-1940
Official lists of passengers arriving in South Australia from overseas 1888-1940
Ships' Papers
Records relating to official assisted immigration - Crown Lands and Immigration Office - Immigrant ships' papers 1849-1885
Probate
Probate and administration books, from 1892
Probate record books, from 1844

Queensland State Archives - Online Indexes - Courts

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 23:07:15 GMT

These indexes include:
• Criminal depositions 1861-1885
• Divorces 1861-1894
• Equity files 1857-1895
• Inquests 1859-1902
• Instruments of renunciation 1915-1983 - lists names, death date, date filed and QSA reference. Renunciations are where the Executor/Executrix no longer wishes to administer the will
• Justices of the Peace 1857-1922
• Naturalisations 1851-1904
• Trustees files 1889-1929
• Wills 1857-1940 compiled from original Supreme Court files. It lists names, district, will number and QSA references.
Copies of the documents are available from QSA for a fee.

Ancestry.com - Australia Convict Collection

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 23:07:15 GMT

This collection offers access to 24+ convict databases. The records are fully indexed with a free name search. A variety of subscription options offer access to digitised copies of the original records. Records include:
• Australia - Convict Savings Bank Books, 1824-1886 (Free index)

• Australia, List of Convicts with Particulars, 1788-1842 (Free index)

• Australian Convict Transportation Registers – Other Fleets & Ships, 1791-1868 (Free index)
• Australian Convict Transportation Registers – First Fleet, 1787-1788 (Free index)

• Australian Convict Transportation Registers – Second Fleet, 1789-1790 (Free index)

• Australian Convict Transportation Registers – Third Fleet, 1791 (Free index)

• England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892 (Free index)

• New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia Convict Musters, 1806-1849 (Free index)

• New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia, Convict Pardons and Tickets of Leave, 1834-1859 (Free index)

• New South Wales, Australia Convict Ship Muster Rolls and Related Records, 1790-1849 (Free index)

• New South Wales, Australia, Certificates of Freedom, 1810-1814, 1827-1867 (Free index)

• New South Wales, Australia, Colonial Secretary's Papers, 1788-1856 (Free index)

• New South Wales, Australia, Convict Applications for the Publication of Banns, 1828-1830, 1838-1839 (Free index)

• New South Wales, Australia, Convict Death Register, 1826-1879 (Free index)
• New South Wales, Australia, Convict Indents, 1788-1842 (Free index)

• New South Wales, Australia, Convict Registers of Conditional and Absolute Pardons, 1788-1870 (Free index)

• New South Wales, Australia, Criminal Court Records, 1830-1945 (Free index)

• New South Wales, Australia, Gaol Description and Entrance Books, 1818-1930 (Free index)

• New South Wales, Australia, Registers of Convicts' Applications to Marry, 1826-1851 (Free index)

• New South Wales, Australia, Settler and Convict Lists, 1787-1834 (Free index)
• New South Wales, Australia, Tickets of Leave, 1824-1867 (Free index)
• New South Wales, Australia, Wives & Children of Irish Convicts, 1825-1840 (Free index)
• UK Royal Navy Medical Journals, 1817-1857

• UK Surgeon Superintendents' Journals of Convict Ships, 1858-1867

Decisions of the Nineteenth Century Tasmanian Superior Courts

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 23:07:15 GMT

Currently decisions 1824-1843 are available. Subject and case indexes are available plus an index to legal cases in Tasmanian newspapers.

Decisions of the Superior Courts of New South Wales, 1788-1899

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 23:07:15 GMT

This site also includes Moreton Bay cases (1850-1859) and Port Phillip District cases (1841-1847). There are subject and case indexes plus information on how to use this site for family history research. There are also links to other similar sites.

Linc Tasmania - Family History and eResources

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 23:07:15 GMT

Linc Tasmania - Family history
This site is designed to explore Tasmanian ancestry using the following categories: Aboriginal Ancestry; Arrivals or departures; Birth, death or marriage; Convict life; Education; Work; Where someone lived; Life as a child in care; Court records; Prison records; Royal Derwent Hospital and Military records. These categories links to any online records, indexes, guides, videos plus other related records, sites or information.
Use the Tasmanian Names Index link to single search across the following:
• Arrivals (19th Century). Passengers and ships arriving, mainly in Hobart. Contains surnames A-N, O-Z to be added
• Births (1803-1933). People born in Tasmania including some baptisms collected by the Registrar General (1900-1933 baptisms only)
• Census (1837-1857). Householders in the 1840s and 1850s, not complete for all districts
• Convict permissions to marry (1829-1857). Convicts applying to marry free people or other convicts
• Convicts (1803-1893). Convicts transported to Tasmania and those convicted locally through the convict system
• Court (1830-1845). Supreme Court. Minutes of proceedings in criminal cases
• Deaths (1803-1933). People who died in Tasmania including some burial records collected by the Registrar General (1900-1933 burials only)
• Departures (1817-1867). People leaving Tasmanian ports, mainly Launceston
• Divorces (1861-1920). Petitions for divorce in the Tasmanian Supreme Court
• Health & Welfare (1830-1873). Patients and attendants at the New Norfolk Colonial Hospital and applications to the Queens Orphan School.
• Hotels & Properties (1818-1958). Hotel licensees, inquests into fires, Launceston buildings and demolished hotels.
• Immigration (1912-1943). Nominations and arrivals of migrants under immigration schemes.
• Inquests (1828-1930). Inquests into people’s deaths
• Marriages (1803-1899). People who married in Tasmania
• Miscellaneous (1838-1873). General correspondence of the Comptoller general of convicts and North Fleet shipwreck survivors.
• Naturalisations (1835-1905). People applying to become citizens
• Prisoners (1895-1902). Prisoners in the Hobart gaol
• Wills (1824-1989). Wills and letters of administration of estates registered for probate
• WW1 Photographs (1914-1919). Photographs and articles from the Tasmanian Mail and Weekly Courier illustrated newspaper
Search results can be filtered by record type, year, name, ship, departure port, place registered and census district. Any digitised records are identified and linked.
TIP: Copies of records that are not digitised can be obtained by using the link to the online copy request form.

LINC Tasmania - eResources.
If you live in Tasmania, you can get a LINC Library card and access a selection of subscription databases from home for free.

State Archives & Records New South Wales

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 23:07:15 GMT

State Archives & Records NSW manages and provides access to the New South Wales State archives collection, a unique and irreplaceable part of Australia's cultural heritage dating back to 1788. This site offers access to:
• Search - a single, simple search to discover photographic and documentary content from amongst the millions of items catalogued in the Collection. You can also do a search of the website content.
• Online Indexes in the following categories: Aboriginal People; Architecture and Design; Asylums; Attorneys, Barristers and Solicitors; Bankruptcy and Insolvency; Business and Company Records; Census and Musters; Chemists and Pharmacists; Child Care and Protection; Colonial Secretary; Convicts; Courts; Deaths; Deceased Estates; Divorce; Gaols; Goldmining; Governor; Health; Immigration and Shipping; Inquests; Intestates; Land; Maps and Plans; Medical Practitioners; Military and War; Naturalization and Denization; Nurses and Midwives; Police; Probates and Wills; Professions and Occupations; Quarter Sessions; Railways and Railway Workers; Schools; Soldier Settlement; Squatters and Graziers; Surveyor General; Teachers and Unemployment.
• Online Guides - Occupations cover: Accountants; Apprentices; Architects, Attorneys, Barristers, Solicitors; Dentists; Firefighters; Medical Practitioners; Military Personnel; Nurses; Optometrists; Pharmacists and Chemists; Physiotherapists; Police Service; Prison Officers / Gaol Staff; Public Servants; Publicans' Licenses; Railway Employees; School Teachers and Sydney Harbour Bridge construction workers.
• Online Guides - Immigration / Shipping Guide - Use the Stories Tab to access Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Immigration, India, Italian, Lebanese, Maltese, Polish and Russian migration stories.
• KeyName Search to search for your family across all the indexes at once, except the Index to the Colonial Secretary’s Papers 1788-1825.
• Research A-Z that allows you to browse the alphabetical list of research topics. This list includes guides, indexes and stories.
• A program of free webinars that focuses on the resources of the State archives collection and how to access them. You can join and participate in a live webinar or watch pervious webinars whenever you want.
• Handwriting – tips for reading handwritten documents
TIP: Use Search to search for place names, ship's names and surnames or use Research A-Z to choose a research topic such as Nurses and Midwives. The Indexes Tab will list the online indexes available; the Guides Tab will list available guides and the Stories Tab will list available stories.
TIP: Check out the State Archives & Records NSW How to use the website guide

Ancestry.com - New South Wales - Gaol Description and Entrance Books 1818-1930

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 23:07:15 GMT

The records are fully indexed with a free surname search. A variety of subscription options offer access to digitised copies of the original records. The description books contain photos and personal information. Currently there are records from: Albury (1876-1929), Armidale (1894-1915), Bathurst (1874-1930), Berrima (1883-1888), Biloela (1885-1906), Broken Hill (1904-1929), Darlinghurst (Sydney) (1869-1914), Deniliquin (1895-1929), Dubbo (1889-1920), Goulburn (1867-1930) Maitland (1867-1930) and Trial Bay (1892-1901).
TIP: These records and images are available for free at State Archives & Records New South Wales

Helen Doxford Harris Homepage

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 23:07:15 GMT

The online Victorian Historical Indexes include:
• Index to Missing People found in Victoria Police Correspondence Records
• Index to Women Lecturers in Victoria 1880-1905
• Index to Wife & Child Deserters
• Index to Victoria Police & Police Stations
• Index to Criminal & Other Case Files
• Infant Life Protection Act Indexes
• Theatrical, Literary & Artistic Lives & Lies
• Index to Employment Applications

Mayberry Homepage

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 23:07:15 GMT

This comprehensive site by Peter Mayberry features:
Irish Convicts and Databases
• Irish convicts to NSW 1788-1849. A fully searchable database database which provides full details from the convict indents held by State Records New South Wales and other sources.
• 1798 & 1803 Rebellions
• Wicklow United Irishmen 1797-1804
Irish Laws and Associations
• Penal Laws
• Catholic Relief Acts
• Insurrection Acts
• United Irishmen's Plan of Parliamentary Reform 1794
• United Irishmen Organization 1797
• Defenders and United Irishmen in early NSW
Braidwood NSW
• Braidwood Gaol Entrance Book 1856-1899
• Braidwood Boys: Braidwood's contribution to the Great War

Judy Webster's Genealogy Indexes & Advice

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 23:07:15 GMT

This site has 53,000+ names of local, interstate and overseas persons mentioned in records in Queensland, Australia. There is also 135+ pages of advice and indexes original records held by Queensland State Archives. Indexes to original records at Queensland State Archives include:
• Mental asylum records
• Hospital admission registers
• Old age pension records
• Illegitimate children
• Police Gazettes
• Police station watchhouse records
• Prison records
• Maintenance payments to deserted wives, children, illegitimate children.
• Undertakings re fares. Premier's Department files re travel by rail or ship (mainly interstate but some international)
• Women granted protection orders, 1888-1904.
• Dentists and dental apprentices
• Nurses and masseurs (male & female)
• Cooktown residents who signed a petition in 1874. The original document has their signatures
• Cooktown Boys' School admission register
•'Interim Index'. Selected names from many sources (Court records, Police correspondence, Grammar School records, etc.)
• Indexes in progress: Insanity files (surnames R-Z), and missing friends registers, and Brisbane Prison Hospital admissions